


Facing the battle alone.

by imbadatlove



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: AU, M/M, No other survivors from the game, more tags in future, mostly OCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 20:14:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10838607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imbadatlove/pseuds/imbadatlove
Summary: They were rescued from the bridge two years ago, together, happy and safe. Now, the apocalypse has resurfaced, and Nick is missing. Separated, Ellis has to face the apocalypse once again alone with his and Nicks' baby daughter that he's determined to keep alive and reunite with his lover. But how far will Kindness get him in this apocalypse?





	Facing the battle alone.

 

'Beep, beep!' Ellis' alarm clock sounded from the bedside table. He groaned and buried his face into the thick, plush pillow and tried to will his body to sleep again rather than give in to the consistent, annoying ringing from his left. He didn't want to work today, he just wanted to stay at home with his family.

The beeping continued, seemingly becoming louder and louder in his ears as he refused to switch the damn thing off. With a roll of his eyes and an exasperated sigh, he pushed himself off of his stomach and slapped the alarm clock off the table, making it clatter to the ground and it stopped making a racket.

He peered over the edge of the bed at it, seeing a bright light blink the time at him repeatedly; 7:45.

Fuck, he was going to be late. For the third time this week.

Alright, fifth-teen minutes to get changed, have breakfast, pack his lunch and say goodbye. Luckily, Nick and their little one were still fast asleep, meaning he didn't have to make too much of a rush.

By 'little one' he meant his and Nick's baby daughter, Daisy. They had adopted her a couple of months ago and she was only five months old. She slept like a lion, never once disrupting them in the middle of the night, unless there was an odd night where she wouldn't stop crying until she found comfort in either Nick or Ellis' arms.

He smiled at the thought of her and stretched before opening his wardrobe and throwing on any old t-shirt and pulling a spare pair of jeans on—he would wear his coveralls, had they not been burnt at the facility they stayed at during the apocalypse—and pulling on a pair of socks.

He ran a hand through his rare, hatless head of curls and stifling a yawn before leaning over the edge of the bed to press a kiss to Nick's lips. He was surprised when he felt a tired, yet passionate press against his.

He peeked an eye open to see his lover smiling tiredly against his lips. He smiled back. He loved when Nick smiled, even if it wasn't very often in the apocalypse, Nick seemed to become a happier person the more time they spent together. Man, he loved his life; it was looking pretty good right now.

"Mornin', sleeping beauty." Ellis grinned, pecking him on the lips once more. Nick snorted and cupped the boys cheek with his soft, calloused hand.

"Why can't you just stay off today?" He groaned, stroking his thumb across his skin.

"Man, I wish I could, ya know that Nick, but I've gotta get to work. I'll be back for lunch, I promise. I'm gonna go make some breakfast an' check on Daisy." Nick nodded and watched the boy walk out their bedroom and to Daisy's, who hadn't made a peep since yesterday.

The mechanic quietly creaked open the door, careful not to disturb their baby girl, and crept inside. He laughed lightly as he saw Daisy writhing around in her cot, making little noises and babbling incoherently to herself. He peeked over the edge of her cot and felt his heart swell with emotion as he saw her sea coloured eyes light up and a big, toothless grin appeared on her face. She started laughing as he reached down to pick her up.

"Well, someone's in a good mood this mornin'!" He bounced her in his arms, making her giggle as he made funny faces at her, making her laugh harder. He cradled her against his chest as he made for the doorway.

"Let's go get some breakfast, hm? Ya must be hungry." Ellis carried her downstairs and into the kitchen, sitting her in her high chair and making some warm milk for her as he filled his bowl with cereal. He poured some milk into his and quickly ate it as he waited for Daisy's milk to be ready.

When it was, he grabbed her bottle and poured the milk into it before securing the lid and approaching her with it. He tied the bib around her, pulled up a chair in front of her and gently placed the bottle against her lips, letting her gulp the milk down.

Upstairs, he faintly heard the sound of the drawers opening and closing, signalling that Nick was up and getting changed and would soon be coming down to join them.

He turned his attention to Daisy again and chuckled as a bit of milk dribbled down her chin, he used her bib to wipe it away before letting her finish the bottle off. When she had, he stood and placed the bottle in the sink and began to wash it up quickly. Less jobs to do when he came home.

Two strong arms wrapped around his waist as he was washing, the older mans' chin resting on his shoulder. He leant into the frame behind him, paying no attention to the washing anymore.

"Hey." Nick started suavely.

"Hey, I should prolly get goin', I'm already—" He checked the clock on the wall, "—ten minutes late. Shit, Keith's gonna kill me." 

"I won't be keeping you any longer then." He let go of the younger man and hefted Daisy out of her chair who was quietly whimpering but almost instantly stopped when Nick picked her up. She snuggled into him. In the background, Ellis hurriedly places the various plates and cups in the cupboards.

Ellis shoved his work boots on and tied the laces before turning to the gambler. He kissed him on the lips.

"I'll be back for lunch. Love ya," He opened the door and before stepping outside, he faintly heard a 'Love you too, El.' which made his smile broaden.

Nick held the baby in his arms gently. He smiled and cupped her head with his hand.

"It's not gonna be easy learning to be happy again, is it, kiddo?"

* * *

 

As Ellis jumped in his truck and switched the engine on, he couldn't help but feel enveloped by anxiety as he pulled out of their drive. He always did, always fucking did.

He didn't know why he always felt this way any time he jumped in his truck, but he had a slight trigger of it, a memory, flashback, that he'd always tried to block out.

The morning of the evac.

He would be immediately whisked back into the world of zombies, where society ended and three new people came crashing into his life, as well as losing others from his life. He remembered shooting all those people, no, infecteds, they weren't people. Remembered getting hurt, hunted, scared. He remembered falling in love.

He would see his mother die, see Dave try and bite his face off, see Keith get dragged into the copter without him. He remembered driving to the hotel in this very truck.

Maybe that was why it affected him in the way it did.

Sighing and willing away the sudden mental pain, he drove to the mechanics' shop he worked at.

He arrived relatively quickly and was in his normal chipper mood until he was greeted by a very pissed looking Keith.

He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I'm real sorry I was late again, Keith."

"El, it's the third time this week. Wha's goin' on with ya?" The other southerner cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared Ellis dead in the eyes. He seemed to tense at the question.

"Nothin's wrong, Keith, but I have a family at home waitin' for me, man. Y'all gotta understand tha'." He sighed.

Keiths' eyes softened. "I know, El, but I'm jus' worried bout'cha. Y'all seem to get distant more. I can't lose ya." He placed his hand on Ellis' shoulder and gripped desperately.

Ellis immediately felt bad, even if he had nothing bad to feel about. "Ya won't lose me Keith, we're bros, always will be," He flashed a smile. "Now, let's get to work on that car that got brought in yesterday, yeah?"

Keith grinned and nodded and the two set to work on obtaining the tool box and fixing the car.

* * *

 

The clock chimed 12:30 on the wall. Ellis tried to hide his excitement but couldn't stop a smile crossing his lips at the thought of his family. He was able to go home early today, if Keith would let him, that is.

"Ey, Keith?" He hollered to the other mechanic.

"Yeah, El?" He answered almost instantaneously.

"Can I go home early today? I've finished up all the cars I needed to fix, plus, I was really lookin' forward to spendin' some time with Daisy...I don't get too much time with 'er." He sighed.

Keith smiled. "Go on ahead, El, have a nice evenin'. See ya tomorrow." They waved goodbye to each other and Ellis practically leapt out the shop and into his truck, eager to get home.

He stopped. His eyes widened and his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach like a rock.

Zombies roamed the streets, all around him was infested with a mindless, flesh-eating freak. They seethed in every corner, every crack of a building their limbs would lay, they body parts strained out like spaghetti smeared across the pavement. Many wandered, while some just crawled, their legs already been amputated. Part of him wanted to sprint back out the vehicle and warn Keith, but he had to make sure Nick and Daisy were okay. 

No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! He couldn't endure this again!

He pressed down violently on the gas pedal, speeding across the roads, not giving a shit if he was breaking the speeding limit. He needed to get to his family and fast!

A zombie stumbled across the road he was on and he slowed down, hesitating.

It was kill or be killed.

He pressed down once again, smashing into the zombie and leaving it a pile of gore on the floor, mush and brains mixing together as the blood poured out in heaps.

Ellis' head turned around to the other window when he heard something tap against it. It was a tongue, a Smokers' to be more precise. Panic settled in, those tongue snaring bastards always had a tendency to target him rather than the others.

He sped around the corner that led to his street where his house was. He pulled up the drive, before kicking the door down and rushing out as a pile of zombies began to beat down on all sides of his truck. He leapt into his house and slammed the door.

If he hadn't had been in such a hurry, he would've noticed that Nicks' car wasn't there.

"NICK, DAISY?!" He shouted in the house desperately, the only response he got was the echoing of his own voice resonating off of the creme walls.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked in surprise as he saw he had fifty-three missed calls from Nick as well as five voice messages. He tapped on the first one.

'Ellis?! Are you alright? The zombies are back, please call me when you get this.' He sounded panicked, and for once, scared.

'Ellis, c'mon, please. I-I...Just call me when you get this, or text me for fuck's sake!' Worry.

'Ellis, I can't do this without you, please. Me and Daisy are okay, just get back to the house, okay?' Fear.

'ELLIS! P-please...' He could hear Daisy crying in the background.

'El, I don't know if you'll get this since you haven't responded to my messages. I want you to know that I love you and—' The voice mail was cut off by static.

"No...They can't be dead..." He thought out loud, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes.

He checked every room and found nothing. Not even a body. Just his safe, comforting house he shared with Nick and Daisy.

Crying.

Was a Witch nearby? He felt his heart leap into his throat.

No, no. This crying was familiar, and closer...

A baby crying. Daisy...!

He rushed up stairs and to the source of the noise, it came from Daisy's room. He felt fear rush through his veins. What if Nick was infected and was killing their daughter?!

 _No, stop being silly,_  he told himself. _Nick is immune, that won't happen._

He barged down the door and saw Daisy writhing under a cover, seemingly hiding her. Nick was trying to protect her.

He threw the covers off of her and cradled her in his arms, clinging as he tried to get her to settle down. At least Daisy was okay, but where was Nick?

He looked out the window and finally reality set in as he stared at the zombies outside.

He laid Daisy down again and rushed into the bedroom. He pulled a baby carrier from the wardrobe as well as his sturdy backpack. For precaution, he took a pistol from Nick's drawer, which Nick surprisingly hadn't taken himself. He tightened the baby carrier around himself before walking back to Daisy's room to collect her.

He slid her into the carrier before dashing downstairs to fill the backpack. It seemed Nick had left supplies for him, there were a few piles of food, water bottles and other essentials stacked on the table. But why did he leave? 

He shoved them in his backpack before checking the pistols' ammo and approaching the front door. He wasn't going to sit on his ass waiting for the zombies to kill him and his daughter. He was going to find Nick before it was too late. 

He kicked the door down and glared at the infected surrounding his truck. His eyes were blazing flames as he aimed. Heads flew and limbs snapped off as the bullets collided with them.

Ellis had never loved the sight of blood and gore more.

**Author's Note:**

> A new story since Welcome To The Apocalypse is on hold atm. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy, feedback is appreciated and sorry for being absent for so long! D:


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